


Baby, it's cold outside.

by Ineffablemurderhusbands



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Ice Skating, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21590560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ineffablemurderhusbands/pseuds/Ineffablemurderhusbands
Summary: The fam and the Doctor goes ice skating.The Doctor is not very good at it and ends up stumbling.River catches her.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/River Song
Comments: 32
Kudos: 384





	Baby, it's cold outside.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so the author is a brazilian who has never set foot in New York in her life so take this fic with a pinch of salt. 
> 
> But I went ice skating once and yes I was the one who looked like a little bambi and yes I was the one who's bra popped from the exertion. And no I didn't have a River to help me. I had a male best friend who laughed his butt off and did not do my bra for me so I had to stay still for the whole duration of the skating while everybody had fun because my bra was fucked. I have not been ice skating since (mostly because it's super expensive in my country and for like 20 minutes - it's done in malls and not actual ice rinks - but part from all the trauma) 
> 
> This fanfic was not beta'ed so yeah. Please leave kudos and especially comments. Merry Christmas!

“Where to next?” The Doctor asked in that excited tone of voice of hers. 

Ryan, Yaz and Graham exchanged looks between them. 

“Maybe somewhere calmer.” Graham said. 

“Oh c’mon gang!” The Doctor’s tone of voice remained excited but she frowned at the word “gang”. “Nope, gang doesn’t work for me.” She remained frowning. “I thought you guys enjoyed our adventures!” She said with almost a pout on her lips, although she would deny it if it was brought to her attention. 

“We do!” Yaz was quick to reassure her. “It’s just that last time we almost died.” 

“It was barely a tiny Zygon invasion.” The Doctor made a dismissive hand gesture. 

“My hair still has the scorch marks, Doctor!” Yaz exclaimed and the Doctor winced, feeling guilty. 

“Ok, I’ll admit it wasn’t ideal.” She said. “Maybe we do need a break.” 

“Thank you!” Ryan exclaimed sarcastically. 

“Where do you want to go then?” She asked again. 

“We should do something low-key.” Ryan suggested. 

“How about we go ice skating in the Rockfeller Center?” Yaz suggested. “It’s a Christmassy activity we could do, plus I’ve never been to the States apart from when we went there during segregation.” Yaz shivered. That had not been fun. 

“Oh, I haven’t gone skating in a long time!” Graham said with a smile. “Since I was a kid.”

“I’ll be happy watching.” Ryan said. 

“Oh Ryan!” Yaz, Graham and the Doctor said in a empathetic tone of voice. 

“Oh, no I wasn’t being sarcastic!” He said with a shit-eating grin. “I’ll be happy watching you fall down.” 

“Graham and I can help you skate, Ryan.” Yaz suggested. 

“Oi! What about me?” The Doctor looked offended. “I can help!” 

“Don’t take this the wrong way Doc, but you doesn’t look very sturdy.” Graham said. “You’re very small.” 

“Yaz is shorter than me!” She exclaimed. 

“Yes, but I’m a police officer.” Yaz said. 

“I’ll show you all how wrong you are!” The Doctor said and immediately went to the console table and punched in the coordinates to this year’s Christmas. Soon the TARDIS took off steadily for once – since the Doctor had released the brakes - and she shooed them off to put on warmer clothes. She took the time to wrap her trustworthy rainbow scarf around her neck as the TARDIS landed without a problem and then she waited for her friends to come back all bundled up in jackets, leather jackets, beanies, scarfs and gloves. 

She smiled at them, already having forgotten about their teasing and went to open up the doors. “Welcome to New York City.” She announced happily as she threw open the doors to the snowy wonderland that was the town that never sleeps. Her friends stepped outside the TARDIS with wonder in their eyes as they looked around to all the gathered snow on the floor –it had snowed earlier but it wasn’t snowing now - and the lights, the enormous Christmas tree and the Christmas carols playing from the speakers. 

“It’s beautiful.” Yaz said in awe. “It looks exactly like the movies.”

“Yeah, don’t get your hopes up.” Ryan scoffed. “I’ve heard that the real New York is nothing like the movies.” 

The Doctor felt a shiver run through her body and it wasn’t from the cold. The last time she had been in New York was when Amy and Rory had… The Doctor shook her head, trying not to think about her past. She was not yet aware that her past was going to catch up with her. “C’mon let’s go get some rentals.” 

A good half an hour later they had managed to secure their skates. The line hadn’t been long but they took a while to convince Ryan to skate and another few minutes so the employer at the stand could find rainbow skates in the Doctor’s size because she had seen them in the feet of a child and begged for one. After they all put on their skates, they made their way towards the ice that was packed with people having a good time. 

“I can’t believe you convinced me to do this.” Ryan said with a worried frown. 

“We’re not gonna let you fall, Ryan.” Yaz said with a soft smile as she placed his arm over her shoulder while Graham did the same. 

“I’m worried that you’ll fall and take me with you.” He said and she huffed. 

“I did figure skating from the ages 4 to 12 so I’m not gonna fall.” She said. 

“Really?” They all stared at her and she could feel herself brushing. 

“Yes, I was obsessed with Johnny Weir.” She said. “It’s not important. Do you trust us?” 

“Yes.” Ryan responded and she smile. 

“Good.” 

With that they made their way to the edge of the rink, being followed closely by the Doctor. 

“Ok, what you’re gonna do for me is you’re gonna firm your core and leave your legs as straight as you can ok?” She explained. “We’re gonna start that way just helping you glide before helping you move your legs.” Ryan nodded. He had a frown of concentration and his forehead was perspiring in nervousness. Graham realized he had the same determined look in his eyes as when he was trying to learn how to ride a bike. 

“You can do this, grandson.” He said softly, just like he did back then. 

“I know.” He turned his head to look at Graham’s face. “I’m just nervous, granddad.” He whispered. 

Graham’s heart was probably never going to get used to the way it warmed every time Ryan called him granddad. But his face split into a grin without him knowing. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.” 

The Doctor watched the scene unfold in front of her with misty eyes. She loved those humans so much. It was true that she loved most humans but those three held a special place in her hearts for sure.  
She watched as her friends all made their way into the ice rink with baited breath and sighed in relieve when Ryan lost a little balance but remained upright with the help of Yaz and Graham. The Doctor smiled when she saw how big his grin was. It was with that smile that the Doctor made her way to the rink herself and immediately felt her legs almost making a full split on the ice, only managing not to fall because she gripped the handrail at the last minute. 

“Doctor, are you okay?” Yaz asked concerned. She wanted to go help the Doctor but she couldn’t. 

“I’m fine!” The Doctor yelled back. “It’s just been a while.” She managed to pull herself upright even if her legs were trembling from the effort to stay put. “Go on without me, I’ll take a while to reacquaint myself with the ice.” The Doctor said dismissively. 

Ryan, Graham and Yaz looked at each other with dubious gazes. 

“Are you sure, Doc?” Graham asked in concern. 

“Yes, I’m sure!” She smiled at them. “Go take Ryan on a lap around the rink, I’ll join you in a minute.” 

Her friends exchanged looks again, making her roll her eyes, but then they nodded. 

“We’ll see you in a minute then.” Ryan said and she waved when they skated away. When they were a bit far away she released the breath she was holding and looked at her feet. “C’mon! I can do this, it isn’t that hard.” She said. The Doctor started to try to skate while holding in the handrail but her legs kept sliding open and she kept doubling over. She hadn’t stepped into the ice for five minutes and she was already making a fool of herself and sweating profusely from the exertion. Here’s a thing people that only watch ice skating on the television doesn’t know: it’s really hard and quite physical. 

The Doctor could feel her hair clinging to the perspiration in her forehead as she tried to skate unsuccessfully. 

“What did Yaz say?” She mumbled to herself. “Straighten my legs and firm my core? How do I do that?!” She hissed. 

It took a while but eventually she managed to take her hand out of the handrail and stay on her feet without feeling like her legs would slip open, but she still couldn’t stay upright. She tried to look around to find were her friends were but they were still on the other side of the rink, since it was huge and they were going extra slow so Ryan wouldn’t stumble. He was doing really well if the grin on his face was any indication. The Doctor was ashamed to say that she was completely envious of him. “Ok, I can do this.” She whispered to herself. “At least I haven’t fell.” As soon as she said this, she should have realized she was doomed, because she tried to straighten her body and immediately felt her legs sliding and opening up and she watched in horror with wide eyes as her body started to go down. She was bracing from impact and ice burn on her uncovered hands when, before she could hit the ground, she felt strong arms holding her from behind and pulling her up against a warm body. 

“Wow!” She heard herself saying as she started to turn around in her savior’s arms. “Thanks a lot.” 

“It’s no problem.” 

Three things happened at once. The Doctor turned around exactly as the person responded her and she found herself face to face with River Song. She recognized her voice as she was turning but it was only faced with the love of her life that she could feel her eyes widening, her mouth opening up and drying up and her hearts beating wildly in her chest like a disarranged samba. As she was looking up at River’s smiling face was that she realized that her bra had popped open at the back from her fumble as well. 

River looked incredible. She was wearing a metallic blue leather jacket with a black scarf and black turtle neck beneath. Her trousers were tight and black and her hair was up in a ponytail with the curls gleaming under all those lights. She looked beautiful and the Doctor realized that she still had her hands firmly on her waist, which was probably wise given the previous events. “Are you ok?” She asked, noticing the Doctor’s sudden change in mood. 

It was with breaking hearts that the Doctor realized she couldn’t tell River who she was, so she tried to pull her facial features into a friendly smile. She was not sure if she was successful or if she had grimaced instead. “Thank you for saving me.” She muttered. 

“Oh, you’re British too?” River asked with a smile. “How nice! Let me guess, Yorkshire?” 

“Sure.” She said in a less than convincing tone of voice. “West Yorkshire.” She completed. 

“What’s a Yorkshire lass is doing in New York on Christmas?” She asked. 

“I’m here with my friends.” She waved around, trying to look for her friends. They were still too far away. “They’re here somewhere.”

“And they’ve left you alone when you’re clearly struggling?” River frowned and the Doctor could see that she was not happy with this. Ah, River! Always ready to help and be on the side of a perfect stranger. 

“No, it’s fine.” She was quick to reassure. “My friend Ryan has something called dyspraxia that makes his sense of balance and motor skills a bit off. That’s why they’re with him right now, I told them to.” River seemed more relaxed after that. 

“Well, but you still clearly needs help.” She said then she took her hand away from the Doctor’s waist and presented to her. “I’m River. River Song.” 

The Doctor took her hand away from River’s shoulder – only now realizing that in the ruckus they had stopped there - and shook her hand, feeling a shiver go through her body and not because both theirs hands were cold. “I’m Jo-“ She stopped herself from saying John Smith because clearly that would not work. “I’m Jodie Smith.” She said smiling back at River. 

“Well, Jodie Smith, I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance.” River said. “Will you please let me help you?” 

“A-Aren’t you busy?” The Doctor asked. 

“Not really.” She shook her head. “And I can’t let you keep looking like a baby bambi anymore.” She laughed and the Doctor joined her. 

“Ok.” She whispered. “But hum…” She could feel her face heating up and she was sure she was incredibly red. 

“Yes…?” River said. She was still smiling. 

“In the stumble my bra popped open.” The Doctor said, unable to look her wife in the eyes fixing her gaze to the empty space of her left shoulder. 

“Really?” She could hear the laughter in River’s tone of voice and she didn’t need to look at her to know that she was grinning. “I’ll help you out. Turn around.” 

“WHAT?” In her shock the Doctor looked River in the eyes again. She was indeed smiling but it wasn’t mocking. 

“I’ll help you out.” She said. “Here.” She put her hands on the Doctor’s waist again and before she could even blink River had turned her around on the spot. “I’m gonna take my hands out of your waist now, so brace yourself.” She warned. 

The Doctor felt River taking her hands away from her waist and thankfully she stayed put. She didn’t have a minute to sigh in relieve when River’s hands were pushing her coat up “Are you seriously wearing braces?” She huffed against the back of the Doctor’s neck, causing the little hairs on her nape to stand up. 

“Oi! Braces are cool!” The Doctor heard herself saying and River only snorted. 

“You know, I knew someone who always said something similar.” She said. Her tone of voice sounded a bit sad and the Doctor felt her hearts pounding. “I’m gonna need to undo it briefly.” She warned. “Do I have consent?” 

“Yes.” The Doctor’s answer was a little bit more breathless than she wanted it to be. 

River undid the back brace and pulled the Doctor’s shirt up so she could see the hood of her bra. The Doctor felt the cold of the ice rink seep instantly into her skin, bringing goosebumps over her pale and freckled flesh. The Doctor had been a wearing a simple white bra that day. While she usually preferred sports bra, laundry day meant that the want bra available was that one. River did her hooks easily and the Doctor shivered as her knuckles touched her skin. “Sorry, my hands are cold.” River whispered to her. 

She quickly pushed her shirt down and did her back brace again, pulling her coat over it. “There, fixed.” 

“Thank you, River.” The Doctor muttered, feeling her cheeks burn. 

“Don’t mention it.” River said, skating quickly towards the Doctor’s front. “So, will you skate with me?” 

“Yes.” The Doctor answered and River beamed. She tried to explain the basics to the Doctor as she placed her arm on her waist to steady her in case it was needed. They stumbled a few times in between giggles and after a while the Doctor seemed to regain her abilities but River didn’t take her arm from around her waist. “So…” The Doctor started. “What are you doing in New York during Christmas time if you don’t mind me asking?” 

“I always find myself draw every year to New York.” River answered, looking pensive. “My parents were buried here so I used come visit them around this time.” 

The Doctor felt a pain in her hearts. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s ok.” River gave a tiny smile. “It’s been a long time since and I still feel like I can see them if I want.” Of course the Doctor knew that River could pop back in time and see her parents but she didn’t mention that. 

Silence set for a while between them but it wasn’t uncomfortable, nothing ever was with River. She caught eyes with her friends a few times and they frowned at her but she nodded her head at them and smiled, so they stayed put, giving them space. The Doctor was very glad that she had such good friends. 

“So, you’re a bit on the nose you know.” River commented with a teasing smirk and the Doctor felt her hearts skipping a beat. 

“Oh?” She could hear her voice crack. 

“Yeah.” River smiled. “With all the rainbows. LGBTQ+ right?” 

The Doctor didn’t usually gave herself labels but she knew that she was definitely not straight. I mean, she was a woman married to a woman. 

“Yes.” She smiled back at her. “I’m not into labels but I’m a bit genderfluid as well.” 

“Oh really?” River said. 

“Yeah.” The Doctor smiled. “Currently I am identifying as a woman though so you can keep calling me she/her.” 

“It’s good to know.” River nodded. “I know someone like you.” 

“Really?” The Doctor said, looking at their skating feet. 

“Yes, my husband.” She nodded. 

“Oh, are you married?” She asked, feigning surprise while her hearts pounded hard and fast against her ribcage. 

“Yes, but we have an open relationship.” She stated. “Just so you know.” She winked at her and the Doctor blushed. She had been wondering when the flirty River would appear since she had been quite a nice girl so far. 

“Good to know.” She whispered under her breath. “What’s he like?” 

River smiled so big that her cheeks must have hurt. The Doctor could see all the love and fondness she had for her husband in her eyes and the Doctor felt sad that she would never experience firsthand. “He’s amazing. I have no words. He’s infuriatingly smart and incredibly annoying at times. He looks like he has all figured out even when he doesn’t. He’s kind and compassionate but he can’t cook for shit.” The Doctor almost let out a offended sound but reeled herself in. 

“It sounds like you really love him.” The Doctor said feeling her voice crack. 

“I do.” River smiled. “Even when he’s an idiot who regenerates into a gorgeous woman and tries to pretend like she doesn’t know me.” She said and the Doctor nodded before what she said registered in her mind. 

“WHAT? YOU KNEW?” She exclaimed, making a few head turn towards them. 

“I did.” She nodded with a shit eating grin. “The tip of this was visible when I bunched your coat up.” She raised her hand and showed the Doctor her screwdriver in her hand. Immediately the Doctor patted her pocket and found it empty. She hadn’t even realized that River had pickpocket her. She groaned. “Also, you’re not that good of an actress.” 

The Doctor groaned. River snickered, making her look at her. “Hello sweetie.” She whispered with the softest smile. The Doctor couldn’t help herself, she leaned forwards and kissed her wife like her life depended on it. River reattributed the kiss with the same enthusiasm as the felt the first prickles of snow on her skin. It had started to snow again. The Doctor broke the kiss with a smile and sighed. 

“I miss you so much.” She muttered. 

“I know.” River whispered back. “C’mon, it’s snowing. They’ll close the rink.” She said. “I’ll buy you a pretzel and you can introduce me to your friends.” 

River offered a hand to the Doctor and she took it without hesitation, knowing that there was no way that she would let go of that hand again, no matter the cost. The Time could find a resolution on its own for all she cared. River would never leave her side again and she would make sure of it.


End file.
